Movies

Netflix finds: But I’m a Cheerleader

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But I’m a Cheerleader is a 1999 satire about a high school cheerleader who is sent to a “gay to straight” camp by her parents. The problem? She was straight, or so she thought. (Of course sending someone to such a camp is a problem in the first place and the film works to poke fun at such ‘gay to straight’ and anit-gay thinking).

I discovered the film on Netflix last night and it was absolutely amazing! It sort of reminded me of Empire Records for some reason, but the characters in this film are absolutely amazing and the way they interact with and learn about each other is just heartwarming. The movie made my smile throughout and left me with a good feeling.

One of the most amazing things about this film is the song “Glass Vase, Cello Case”. This song gave me goosebumps when I first heard it and it still does as I listen to it over and over again. It’s very powerful and the moments in the film in which it plays are just as powerful and moving.

I highly recommend adding this film to your Netflix queue, it’s well worth the watch.

Seeing Warm Bodies

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

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I’m seeing Warm Bodies this evening and I’m quite excited to
see this unique take on the zombie genre. It’ll be nice to see a lighthearted, warm zombie movie a week before the return of The Walking Dead.

I’ll be sure to post my thoughts on the film later on. I’m keeping this post short as I’m posting from my Kindle Fire HD.

Up next: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

I was browsing Sundance selection trailers and came across this one and it simply blew me away! I can’t wait to watch it this weekend, but until then I wanted to share the trailer. The film is nominated for 4 Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress) and I certainly hope it wins a few because it definitely looks like an amazing movie.

Recently Watched: To Rome with Love

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

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Last night I watched To Rome with Love which features a cast filled with great actors, including two of my favorites: Jesse Eisenberg and Ellen Page. The film follows several stories of love, cheating and self discovery, all taking place in Rome. Each of the individual stories is well told and together they make for a great story that is more about Rome and life lessons (growth maybe?) than one individual story (if that makes any sense).

At least 70% of the dialogue is spoken in Italian with subtitles, and the beautiful language makes the film all the more enjoyable. It’s a very happy film and the soundtrack fits perfectly, with “Amada Mia, Amore mio di El Passador” (below) played all throughout the movie.

I definitely recommend watching this movie. It’s a great date night movie!

Compliance: A disturbing true story

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

I was able to see Compliance, a thriller that shocked and disturbed its audience at Sundance 2012 before its limited August release. The film is written and directed by Craig Zobel who is probably most well known for co-creating Homestar Runner. It is based on a series of prank calls commonly called the “strip search prank calls”. The film follows the events of the most disturbing of these calls (there were at least 70 reported in all), which took place at a Mount Washington, Kentucky McDonalds.

Without spoiling too much of the movie, basically a guy calls a fast food restaurant and claims to be a police officer who is too busy to come by in person. He instructs the store manager that one of her employees has stolen money and she needs to help him investigate. He tells her he is fully responsible for her actions and the investigation and she won’t be doing anything wrong. She is ordered to detain the employee, and things roll down hill fast.

The film explores how people respond to authority figures and just how far they’ll go to obey an authority even if common sense seems counter to their actions. The entire movie I was writhing in my chair and nearly screaming at the screen. Who would let these events happen? Who would comply with these absolutely insane actions? Why? And this REALLY DID happen!

I highly recommend seeing this movie and reading about the story. Compliance has an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score and is definitely worth a watch.

 

In theaters: Promised Land

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

Promised Land is in theaters everywhere today (it had previously been in limited release) and I’m quite excited to see it. The story looks great and Focus Features movies are always great. Focus Features have produced / distributed many great films including Coraline, 9, ParaNorman and more recently Anna Karenina (currently in theaters). I look forward to seeing Promised Land soon.

Now on Netflix: The Art of Flight

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

The Art of Flight is one of the most visually stunning documentaries I’ve seen recently and I’ve been wanting to pick it up on blu-ray simply because of how amazing it looks in HD. Last night while browsing Netflix I was pleased to see The Art of Flight in the documentary section. If you haven’t seen it I definitely recommend it, whether or not you’re into snowboarding or extreme sports at all. At least watch the first 15 minutes and prepare to be wowed. It’s quite amazing.

Atlas Shrugged Part 2 tomorrow!

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

One day I saw Atlas Shrugged Part 1 (trailer below) on Netflix and had never heard of it, but decided to watch it. I watched the movie on my Kindle Fire while sitting in the library at Sheppard AFB, Texas (while in tech school) and I could not tear myself away from the screen. I could’ve gone back to my room to finish it, but I couldn’t find the power to hit the pause button, I was that entranced by the movie.

 

Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand published in 1957 which is being made into three movies. Part one was released last year, and was considered a box office flop (it also has a 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Fortunately this didn’t prevent the continuation of the story as Atlas Shrugged Part Two is in theaters tomorrow. I’m more excited for this movie than any other movie coming out this year, and from the trailer (below) I can tell it won’t disappoint.

I no longer use physical media

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

A year ago if I wanted a movie I’d go to the store and buy the blu ray, or if I wanted a video game I’d go to Gamestop and buy the disc. I had already given up CDs as a medium for music (I’ve been all iTunes for quite some time), but I hadn’t completely given up on physical media yet. The main reason was my internet at the time just wasn’t good enough to handle my media consumption.

Now things are different. I want a movie? I buy the digital copy on Amazon or now on Vudu, in HD (or HDX on Vudu) and it looks just as good as a blu ray to my untrained eyes. As for video games, most new releases aren’t instantly available in digital form (on the 360 at least) but when they are I prefer digital over a disc any day.

Having a stack of DVDs just doesn’t appeal to me. They take up shelf space for no good reason, it’s not like they’re appealing to look at every day. Plus when I move it’s really annoying to use up precious box space for a ton of DVDs. Having a digital movie collection is awesome. I can browse my collection on my laptop, tablet, or TV and watch what I want in an instant. I never have to hunt down a disc, I never have to put anything in, just click and enjoy. When I’m done the movie stays on the server far away and takes up no space in my room or on my hard drives.

Even better I can access my collection from anywhere. Over at a friend’s house? No problem. I have access to my entire movie library by simply logging into an account. On vacation? My movies are there waiting for me.

I know a lot of people are slow to give up on something they know. They say they like seeing their collection, or if they pay money for something they need something to hold in their hands. Believe it or not there are people who still buy CDs. So be it, but it’s not for me. I welcome the digital age with open arms. I love the cloud.